The Work Does Not End at Yes
Someone you have prayed for has just trusted Christ. There is joy in the presence of the angels of God (Luke 15:10), and there should be joy in you. Then a quieter question comes: what now? Your friend does not know what a Christian does next. You may not feel sure yourself. This study is for that moment.
No one thinks the work of raising a child is over when the baby comes home. New life needs food, warmth, and someone who stays. Peter compares believers to newborn babes (1 Peter 2:2). Paul said of the young believers at Thessalonica, we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children (1 Thessalonians 2:7).
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”MATTHEW 28:19–20 · KJV
Jesus did not send His people out to collect prayers or count raised hands. The word teach in verse 19 means to make disciples (see Believer's Baptism). Then He named what comes next: baptize them, and teach them to observe all things. The mission is four words: go, win, baptize, teach (see The Great Commission). If we go and win and then stop, we have stopped halfway.
A committed follower of Jesus Christ. The word means a learner or student. Every believer is called to be one (John 8:31; Luke 9:23).
The process of becoming a committed follower of Jesus and teaching others to do the same, usually with the help of another believer who is a few steps further along.
If God let you be there when someone believed, He has probably put that person in your care, at least for now. Your pastor cannot walk beside every new believer, and God never meant him to (Ephesians 4:12).
Nothing here adds to what saved your friend. If he trusted Christ alone, he was saved completely and forever the moment he believed. Salvation is the miracle of a moment, and discipleship is the journey of a lifetime. If you are the new believer, start with Your New Life in Christ, which was written for you.
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For Deeper Study
- The Lost Art of Disciple MakingAmazon LeRoy EimsA practical classic on helping one person at a time, by a leader in The Navigators, a broadly evangelical ministry.
- The Master Plan of EvangelismAmazon Robert E. ColemanA short classic on how Jesus trained the twelve. Coleman wrote from a Wesleyan background, and we differ there.
- Discipling: How to Help Others Follow JesusAmazon Mark DeverA short book on discipling within the local church, by a Baptist pastor. He is Reformed, and we differ with him on election.
- Growing Up: How to Be a Disciple Who Makes DisciplesAmazon Robby GallatyA hands-on guide to small discipleship groups, by a Southern Baptist pastor.
- Foxe's Book of MartyrsAmazon John FoxeThe classic Protestant record of those who died for the faith, from the early church to the English Reformation.
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Your New Life in Christ
The moment you trust Christ, God forgives you, declares you righteous, makes you His child, and gives you His Spirit, and from that settled place you begin a lifetime of growing to be like Jesus.
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